Sacred Scripture and Outside the Church There is NO Salvation

Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus: outside the Church, there is no salvation. This “hard saying” has been consistently taught as a dogma of the Faith from the very inception of the Church — affirmed by the Gospels and epistles, insisted on by the early Church Fathers, and later solemnly defined in holy councils and papal statements.

Naturally, it is the primary dogma being attacked today, because the modern Creed of the unwashed masses (and that includes liberal Protestants and Catholics) has only one article of faith: I believe in tolerance and respect for every religion.

In an age where truth is said to be relative, where “what’s right for you is right for you, what’s right for me is right for me,” and where intolerance is the only mortal sin, the dogma that says “Outside the Church there is no salvation” sticks out like a sore thumb.

“How intolerant! How exclusivist! You mean to tell me that you think your religion has a monopoly on truth? That only Catholics have it all right?”

“No one religion has a monopoly on truth — every religion has some truth, and every religion has some error. We’re only humans, after all, and it’s unrealistic to think that any one group could be entirely free from misconceptions about Who God is and what He expects of us.”

“In the end, God is not going to give us theological entrance exams before we can get into Heaven — we’ll be judged on how we treated the sick, the hungry, the poor, and not on how correct our theology was. It doesn’t matter what you believe, just how you act.”

Do those words sound at all familiar? They certainly sound familiar to me, because those are the very words that came out of my mouth on a fairly regular basis some five-or-so years ago. Those words summarize the overwhelmingly, universally accepted understanding of religion and faith — just do whatever makes you feel good, and don’t judge anyone else.

What saith the Scriptures? Are all religions equal? Does it really matter what you believe? Is there a dichotomy between the Christ you worship and the Church to which you belong? Some say that faith in Christ is all that matters, not what denomination you belong to — as though Christ is over here in this category, and the Church is over there in that category, as sort of an irrelevant aside.

As I have written in past articles, the Gospel is more than just “Christ on the Cross.” The Gospel is the restoration of the kingdom of David — which kingdom is the Catholic Church — and the Cross is the royal enthronement of Our King.

There is no need to restate all of the proofs that I have written about before — I will simply stipulate that the Church (and a proper understanding of the Church) is absolutely central to the Gospel.

What does Scripture teach us about the necessity of belonging to the Church, or about the dogma “outside the Church there is no salvation”?

We may begin with the passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel, which every Catholic should know by heart:

“And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18)

This is a singular point: there are two kingdoms, and only two. One is the kingdom of God (the Church) and the other is the kingdom of Satan. If you do not belong to one, you belong to the other, as Our Lord implied:

“He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth.” (Luke 11:23)

This verse puts the lie to the false sentiment that all denominations (Lutheran, Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopalian, Anglican, Congregational, Free Methodist, etc.) are equally doing the work of Christ and furthering the spread of the kingdom. If they are not part of the one Church that Christ founded (and He did say that He would build His “Church,” singular, not “churches”), then they scatter against Him and do not gather with Him.

This understanding is so critical, yet so misunderstood and ignored by so- called “bible Christians” (and many Catholics) in our day. From the very beginning, Christ founded only one Church, and entrusted to it, in the words of St. Paul:

The utter uniqueness of this Church should be beyond debate. We have thus far seen nothing but singularity: one Church, one faith, one baptism. There is no room here for multiple “churches” teaching multiple disparate doctrines.

So important is holding fast to this “one faith,” that Our Lord, St. Paul, and St. John all admonish us to steer clear of those who would tamper with the faith, and to consider them, not as Christian equals, but as pagans:

“And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.” (Matt. 18:17)

“A man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, avoid.” (Titus 3:10)

“If any man come to you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into the house nor say to him: God speed you.” (2 John 10)

“But though we, or an Angel from Heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema.” (Gal. 1:8)

Is this exclusivist and intolerant? Absolutely — but why would you expect anything different? Is this not the very nature of God, and are not these sentiments — written by the Apostles — the very same as those of the God Who said:

“I the Lord, this is My name: I will not give My glory to another ...” (Is. 42:8)

From the absolute uniqueness and singularity of God, there springs forth an absolutely exclusive truth, revealed unto men by an absolutely unique and singular Divine Man, and entrusted exclusively to His singular and unique Church. Or, to trace it backwards, there is only one faith, found in one Church, with one baptism, entrusted to the Church by Her one Lord, the one and only-begotten Son of the One True God. To introduce diversity at any point in this catena is to destroy the whole.

And what of the “one baptism”? This, too, is a testament to the necessity of belonging to the one true Church. How are we incorporated into this Church?

It is through the sacrament of that “one baptism” that we are made members of the One Church. And of this baptism, it is said:

“Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)

To say that one must be baptized for salvation is to say that one must be inside the Church to be saved, for baptism is what incorporates us into the Church. If baptism is necessary for salvation, and the Church is necessary for baptism, then the Church is necessary for salvation, and being “outside the Church” is to endanger one’s eternal soul.

We need look no further than the prophecy of Daniel to find some identifying marks of this one Church:

“... the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth ... the God of Heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never by destroyed, and His kingdom shall not be delivered up to another people: and it shall break in pieces, and shall consume all these kingdoms: and itself shall stand for ever.” (Dan. 2:35, 44)

In these two verses, the prophet Daniel reveals to us all at once the visibility, universality, and immutability of the true Church. Visibility, because this kingdom fills “the whole earth” and is as “a great mountain” — who has ever heard of a mountain that was so great as to fill the entire earth and yet remain invisible? Universality, because this kingdom fills “the whole earth,” and conquers over “all these kingdoms” of the earth. Immutability, because this kingdom “shall stand forever.”

What more proof do we need that the Catholic Church is the one true Church of Christ? Has there ever been another Church that has filled the whole earth, that has been visible for all to see, that had its inception during the days of the Roman Empire (Daniel says this kingdom will be established “in the days of those kingdoms,” the last of which was the Roman Empire in the 1st Century), and that has remained upon the earth ever since that time?

Does anyone require still further proof that the Church which was founded in the Apostolic times was, in fact, the Catholic Church?

Then hear Pope St. Clement of Rome (d. A.D. 98/101) who says that in this Church the Apostles “knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that there would be strife on account of the office of the bishop,” and so they “appointed those [ministers] already mentioned, and afterwards gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry.” (Letter to the Corinthians, XLIV)

Hear the account of the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp (d. A.D. 155), after which the Christians “took up his bones, as being more precious than the most exquisite jewels … and deposited them in a fitting place, whither, being gathered together … the Lord shall grant us to celebrate the anniversary of his martyrdom.” (The Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, XVIII)

Hear St. Ignatius of Antioch (d. A.D. 107), who calls the Holy Eucharist the “medicine of immortality, and the antidote which prevents us from dying, but a cleansing remedy driving away evil, [which causes] that we should live in God through Jesus Christ.” (Epistle to the Ephesians, XX)

Hear the same St. Ignatius tell us, “As therefore the Lord does nothing without the Father ... so do ye, neither presbyter, nor deacon, nor layman, do anything without the bishop,” and hear him exhort us, “Do ye all, as one man, run together into the temple of God, as unto one altar, to one Jesus Christ, the High Priest of the unbegotten God.” (Epistle to the Magnesians, VII)

Hear St. Justin Martyr explain the early rites of Baptism, in which sinners “are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated ... in order that we may not remain the children of necessity and of ignorance, but may become the children of choice and knowledge, and may obtain in the water the remission of sins formerly committed.” (First Apology, LXI)

Hear the same St. Justin Martyr (d. A.D. 130) explain the early Eucharistic Sacrifice, “of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins.” He tells us that “not as common bread and common drink do we receive these, but ... we [have] been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word … is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.” (First Apology, LXVI)

Hear St. Irenaeus of Lyons (d. A.D. 202), who says that heretics “object to tradition, saying that they themselves are wiser not merely than the presbyters, but even than the apostles, because they have discovered the unadulterated truth,” and that “these men do now consent neither to Scripture nor to tradition.” (Against Heresies, Book III, II, 2)

Finally, hear this same St. Irenaeus tell us that we may “put to confusion all those who ... assemble in unauthorized meetings, by indicating that tradition derived from the apostles, of the very great, the very ancient, and universally known Church founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul,” and that “it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with this Church, on account of its preeminent authority.” (Against Heresies, Book III, III, 2)

All of these writings date back as early as the late 1st Century, and none of them are dated later than the late 2nd Century. Who can observe these facts and deny that the Apostolic Church was anything but Catholic, both in belief and in practice? I submit to you that only the most bereft of good will and intellectual honesty can read these writings and still not conclude that the Holy Catholic Church is the one true Church.

This is the “faith once delivered to the saints” that St. Jude referred to, the detractors of which “have perished in the contradiction of Core.” (Jude 3, 11) You may remember that Core raised up a rebellion against God’s appointed vicar (Moses), reasoning that “all the multitude consisteth of holy ones, and the Lord is among them: Why lift you up yourselves above the people of the Lord?” (Num. 16:3) For this rebellion against the divinely constituted authority, the earth opened up and swallowed Core and his band, who all “went down alive into hell, the ground closing upon them.” (vs. 31-33)

Is there salvation outside the Church? Ask Core and his followers, or ask St. Jude, who compared the detractors of the Holy Faith to Core, and promised them a similar fate.

No, it is a dogma of the faith, well attested by Scripture, that there is only one Church, which is entered into by one baptism, and which professes only one faith. Those who reject this Church necessarily reject the “one faith,” and are declared by St. Paul to be “heretics” who are “anathema”.

Yes, it is an intolerant and exclusive position, but it is divinely revealed truth, which is ours to adhere to and not to alter. The Church is exclusive, and salvation is difficult to obtain, as Our Lord taught:

“And a certain man said to him: Lord, are they few that are saved? But He said to them: Strive to enter by the narrow gate: for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter and shall not be able.” (Luke 13:23-24)

We may conclude with the words of The Athanasian Creed written in the 4th Century, words that express the unchanging truth regarding the Catholic Church:

“Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic faith; Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.”

SCRIPTURE ALSO RECORD, IN JOHN 6:53-58 "53 Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. 54 Whoever eats 19 my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."

The Eucharist: a reality, not just a symbol.

Don't quench the spirit by believing that you cannot be saved unless you believe the Catholic Church is the only way...

Just for giggles, let's see what what the Church actually says, not what we think it might say:

432 The name Jesus signifies that the very name of God is present in the person of his Son, made man for the universal and definitive redemption from sins. It is the divine name that alone brings salvation, and henceforth all can invoke his name, for Jesus united himself to all men through his Incarnation, so that "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Nothing Christians don't already know, Jesus alone brings salvation.

CHRIST

is the

LONE INTERCESSOR

BETWEEN

God and man.

CHRIST IS

THE LIVING WORD.

Whenever, even in the Old Testament, man became too comfortable with even the boxes God had HIMESELF constructed vis a vis religion,

GOD BUSTED THEM UP.

Christ said call no man Father but our Heavenly Father.

But the bureaucracy has lists of rationalizations a mile long for it's officials to continue to act like pharisees; for the troops to continue slavish devotion to an organization

INSTEAD OF TO GOD

and for satan's realm to be gleefully involved instead of God's Holy Spirit directing individuals closer and closer to God.

The Roman church does not have a monopoly on this. But it is sure the most glaring example I know of.

FYI Catholic Family News is a Feeneyite publication. The SSPX, the SSPV and the sedevacantists all reject the belief of excommunicated priest Leonard Feeney that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. Even pre-Vatican II popes believed in baptism of desire and Feeney was excommunicated by none other than Pius XII. Feeney was the Catholic version of Bob Jones and Jack Chick.

I think it's so funny that you offer the Epistle to the Romans as evidence, since the very fact that the Epistle's in the canon (so spelled) at all is based on the reverent tradition of the self-same Roman Church that preserved the memory of Peter's presence from the beginning, and only subsequently on the authority of a successor of Peter, as the whole Church knew.

"There is good reason at least to hope for the eternal salvation of those who are in no way in the true Church of Christ" (Syllabus of Errors, a.d. 1864 Holy Office under Pius IX)

The Church of Christ, therefore, is the only ever enduring Church; and all who depart from it, depart from the will and command of Christ, our Lord. They have left the path of salvation and are heading towards destruction. (Satis Cognitum, encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, a.d. 1896)

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necesssary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation…He explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed the necessity of the Church, which men enter as through a door. (Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium: The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 14)

It must of course be held as a matter of faith that outside the apostolic, Roman Church no one can be saved, that the Church is the only ark of salavation, and that whoever does not enter it will perish in the flood. (Pope Pius IX, allocution Singulari Quadam, a.d. 1854)

As I follow no leader save Christ, so I communicate with none with none but your blessedness, that is with the chair of Peter. For this, I know, is the rock on which the Church is built. That is the house where alone the paschal lamb can be rightly eaten. This is the ark of Noah, and he who is not found in it shall perish when the flood prevails. (St. Jerome, letter 15, to Pope Damasus,2)

This is the logical fallacy of "Poisoning the Well." If you have evidence that Catholic Family News is a "Feeneyite" publication, present it. If you think this article is tainted with "Feeneyism," then argue your point. Your comparison of Fr. Feeney to Bob Jones and Jack Chick is unwarranted calumny, as Fr. Feeney was orthodox except regarding the Baptism of Blood and Desire.

Do you think he's talking about traditions of men?

Have you really read the Old Testament and missed the parts about God Almighty upsetting even traditions HE had established?

How about Christ in the Gospels?

If one wants to be on God's side and attend to God's prioirities,

TRADITIONS are not a good place to start or end.

I'm quite comfortable with my observance of The Lord's Supper.

Protestantism in a nutshell: I'm quite comfortable with my...

It's not easy or comfortable, Quix, picking up our crosses and following Christ as He commands. Join us, and Him in the fullness of Christian faith.

If one wants to be on God's side and attend to God's prioirities, TRADITIONS are not a good place to start or end.

Wery good then. So, establish the canon of Scripture and explain where the idea of "sola scriptura" comes from without any reference to a tradition.

And Romans

appear to be quite comfortable

to slip and slide along within the bobsled run of the Roman Traditions pretending that doing so

fulfills their part of their relationship with God.

When CHRIST DECLARED

MY SHEEP KNOW MY

VOICE

and God is clearly intent on our RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM

TO THE AVOIDANCE OF

RELIGION!

Protestants are little to no better on that score, however.

Sigh.

And the catechism? Tread carefully when you hold your judgement stick, friend...

The Catechism is a product of the Magisterium and Holy Tradition. Which are both valid sources of dogma, along with Scripture, for Catholics. So the objection given does not "backfire" on us.

Only Protestants believe in "sola scriptura," so only Protestants are hypocrites when referencing their own extra-scriptural sources and traditions.

In humility, seeking Holy Spirit's guidance,

READ THE TEXT.

GO DO THE TEXT.

Not that difficult a concept.

Chinese Christians in China do it all the time with scraps of Scripture

AND GOD CONFIRMS WITH MANY MIRACLES FOLLOWING.

No tradition of any kind involved AT ALL.

I guess God has a different perspective than the Romans on it as He confirms such quite liberally, quite constantly, there.

The Romans may have a big box.

But even their big box is subatomic compared to God.

HE WILL *******NEVER******* FIT IN IT.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.